Nico Hulkenberg explained an overly cautious approach on the penultimate lap of the Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix cost him a points finish.
Hulkenberg was running in the points late on at Baku, having fended off the advances of Lewis Hamilton and Haas team-mate Ollie Bearman.
The veteran German had also made his way past Williams’ Franco Colapinto to take 10th place but lost that position after brushing the wall on Lap 49.
Hulkenberg would then lose out to Hamilton and Bearman at Turn 3 on Lap 50 as he recalled driving too cautiously by the Carlos Sainz/Sergio Perez crash.
“It was all going actually pretty good,” Hulkenberg told F1.
“Better than expected, to be honest. I managed to find rhythm and some pace today in the race, which I’m very happy and pleased about and proud.
“But then unfortunately, in the last two laps, faced some issues, faced some trouble, and then with the accident at the end as well, I got caught off-guard because for me that was a straight Safety Car or even a red flag because it was real carnage down the straight.
“But then there was a green flag and I just lost positions then there and lost the result, unfortunately.”
Hulkenberg feared car damage after driving through Sainz/Perez aftermath
Contributing to Hulkenberg’s caution on the run to Turn 3 was the fact he reasoned his Haas was damaged.
“The whole track was covered and I ran over a massive – there was a lot of debris and big stuff and I hit something quite big,” he said.
“I couldn’t see because I had a car right in front of me.
“I hit something and I wasn’t sure where my front wing was, to be honest.
“It was quite a big bang. Pretty crazy two last laps, but not in our favour.”
Had circumstances played out differently, Haas and Hulkenberg could have walked away from Baku with eighth place and four points.
Instead, Williams scored 10, Hulkenberg scored none in 11th and Bearman picked up one point for 10th.
As a result, Williams has risen to eighth in the Constructors’ standings with 16 points, 13 behind seventh-placed Haas.
“The positives are that we had the race pace, and even at one of Nico’s worst tracks, he was very competitive,” said Team Principal Ayao Komatsu.
“I’m sure we can fight for points for the rest of the season.”
